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11.30.2013

Oh yes that's right I finally got up the nerve and cut off a few inches of my hair. I'm so happy I did, my hair looks so much healthier and its so nice to have a change. Now my hair doesn't look so thin and stringy but so healthy and clean. I decided against the burgundy highlights, mostly because I love being a blonde and I didn't want to regret it later. Having my hair short has been so easy to maintain and I love that it looks cute without having to put a lot of time into it. I do miss my long hair...only when I look at photos though, but I was ready for some change. I got so tired of just having a trim every time I went in and got a hair cut, so this time I wanted to try something new and have a different style. I feel so different and every time I look in the mirror its like a whole new me! I know my hair isn't really short, but compared to my long hair it is definitely shorter. Ah it feels so nice to have a little bit of change in my life even if its small!

11.28.2013

This year I have so much to be thankful for. I honestly don't even know where to start, my list is just too long! So here are a few things I am so grateful for this past year!

♥ My friends and family. New and old. I don't know what I would do without them. This is pretty much on my list every year, but they mean the world to me and they are always there whenever I need them.

♥ Lily, my Maltese puppy. She is just the cutest little thing, and I love her to death. I am a huge dog lover and she just makes my family complete.

♥ My dog job. It's been so nice to have my own little pay check to put in the savings or spend it on little things here and there. Its been so wonderful being able to bless other people with it who are in need also.♥ Education. This year I have been truly blessed by being able to be homeschooled and have an amazing education with the foundation of Christ. To have the guidance and support of my parents with my schooling this year has impacted me in so many ways. I am so grateful for the sacrifices my mom and dad have gone through for me and my sister with being able to take certain classes and yet still being able to homeschool. ♥ Absolutely everything I have. Sometimes I take my material items for grantee, and I forget how many people don't even know when they are going to have their next meal, or sleep in a bed.♥ God's unchanging love. This year, one attribute of God has really touched me and stood out...his unchanging everlasting love. To know that the Lord is jealous for me and wants to have a relationship with a sinner like me, is just unfathomable.And I know its because of how much he loves me. I thank God for his grace and love for me every single day! ♥ This blog. Through blogging I've been able to meet so many wonderful friends who are so encouraging and helpful. Even though I have never meet my blogger friends in person there is just this special bond because of being sisters in Christ and just through blogging in general. I love being able to write about my thoughts and share my life, and the whole blogosphere is so positive and supportive, I just love the community. Plus I've been able learn so much about fashion and lately I've been able to kind of switch over to the whole fashion posts on the blog. Way too much fun.

11.24.2013

Master's College? Biola University? California Baptist University? Azusa Pacific University? Dental School? The list of my options for college seems to be never ending. There are so many amazing University's out there and so many different majors to choose from. This past weekend I had the opportunity to head down to Biola University for the "University Day." We were able to stay there overnight in their dorms, take a campus tour, sit-in on classes, and eat in their cafeteria's, just like we would if we decided to go their for college. My time there was amazing. The campus was beautiful, the people were friendly, the classes made you excited, and the entire college was so focused on God. I felt so comfortable and totally happy. I loved how the campus was a good size but not too big where you feel completely lost and confused. So for me I really enjoyed that.

I am debating between majoring in Psychology so I would become a marriage and family therapist or becoming a dental hygienist which I would graduate with a degree in science!! Both majors provide two different worlds so I am going to explore both. If I decide on Psychology I would go to a university for that, but with dental I would go to a trade school/ Jr. college. So right now I'm really trying to look at all my options and the life and career each major would give me. The options seem to be never ending and right now my head is spinning with thoughts and ideas, concerns and problems! I know that God will show me the place where I need to be and that he has a plan for me. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I am an introvert. I have never been one to go out with friends everyday or every weekend, so I definitely love my space. Plus I have to recharge myself with alone time. So with that being said the whole dorm life has always scared me. I've never wanted to share a room, not have your own personal bathroom, or even be away from home. But at Biola I was so blessed with amazing room mates and my total view of the dorm life has completely changed. The entire floor was so friendly and the over-all community was like a tight knit family. I could really see myself living there and just being apart of the social atmosphere. It was amazing to experience what dorm life was like, not alt all what I had envisioned. Instead of being stuck in your room I got to see there were so many areas where I could get away. There are so many hidden places spread out around campus to go journal, sit by the fountain, have alone time, and to be able to study peacefully and quietly!!

At Biola I love the chapel mornings and worship nights. They had the most beautiful worship band that leads every Sunday night. Its just an amazing time to worship God. Its one of the things I loved about Biola, that is the Christ centered atmosphere. That's definitely something you won't be able to find at a public/secular college! I love that many University's that I'm looking into require bible credits before you graduate. I desire a college where sharing and talking about the Lord is seen and heard all around campus. I honestly don't think I could ever survive on a secular campus, with only a little people believing Jesus is Lord. So for me, I love the whole Christian and Christ centeredness at Biola, and hopefully at other University's as well, which I am hoping to visit more in the spring time!! :)

(a framed verse that was placed in the "social room" on our floor)

(of course I had to complete my night with coffee!)
(our dorm building)

11.19.2013

Hello lovelies! I hope your week has been going great so far. I know mine has, mostly because its my last week of school before Thanksgiving break, ha-ha. Anyways, did you guys see that I finally added my little new feature to the blog? Its called "Ask Away." This is a little button on the side of my blog that you can click and it will bring you to my page where you can ask questions and it will give you more information on what it is all about. So the over-all idea of Ask Away is, you asking certain questions, regarding anything...and I might consider to answer for a future Q & A post!! I'm super excited about it and I'm hoping this is a way to connect with my readers and just be able to be there for people and help them with whatever it is they ask me. I hope you find this to be a helpful tool and love using it. I had so much fun putting it all together so I can't wait to receive the first question! Also remember that even though I don't feature the question it will still be answered personally just not through a blog post. Thanks so much for supporting my blog without you I would not be able to do this and even enjoy blogging as much as i do. You make me want to become a better blogger everyday and just blog in general! All of my readers are just amazing, so thank you! ♥

11.17.2013

Hey There! Have a question? Ask away, and your question may be featured here on the blog. You question may be underneath my Q&A posts, which cover all types of topics. Feel free to ask my anything. I am a lifestyle blogger and therefore love sharing my tips with my readers, but there's always something I haven't covered, or shared my opinion on, so if you want to find out just ask! Have a question pertaining to fashion, novelty treats, life challenges, personal facts about the girl behind the blog, craft projects, travel tips, or blogging advice, well then you're in luck! Don't want your question to be featured on the blog, just answered personally? Well that's fine too! Just state that in your email! Please note, I never address the question with the original person who asked, therefore keeping it confidential. Contact me at pianokey21 (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks for reading, and I look forward to answering your questions!

11.15.2013

Yes, finally a fashion post! Taking photos seems to be very hard to cram into my schedule especially with this time change. But thankfully I was able to rush over to this cute little alley and take a few shots. I have been experimenting with head bands lately, and I am loving them. I've been trying to create some new styles with my hair, so its been so fun! Although I am strongly considering cutting my hair short and adding some darker high lights for the fall time! I am a little worried that I won't enjoy it and that later I will regret it, but hey, it can always grow back long again. And I always wear my hair down so I figured having shorter hair, might make it look healthier and just be easier to maintain. Plus change is always nice to have once in a while, and I believe I am ready for some. I have already set an appointment with my hair dresser, so lets wait and see if I actually fall through with it, and have the guts to cut some inches off. Any advice on what I should do?

On a side note, my title post name is from one of my favorite songs right now from Casey Abrams. Click here to listen to it! I am in love with his voice because its so unique and clear. I literally keep this song on repeat whenever I listen to him! Lately I have been into slower songs instead of your upbeat and loud ones ha-ha. Comment below and share who your favorite artist has been lately?!

11.12.2013

I find myself having the hardest time getting up to go exercise simply because I want to sleep in. I don't like waking up early to go jogging, but yet in the afternoon here in So-Cal it is so hot you are literally sweating within the first 20min of working out. How crazy is that? So clearly waking up early seems to be my better option. So today I am going to share with you 7 tips for waking up early! I tried this the other day and it worked! Everything helped and it was so much easier to get up and go exercise. It's amazing how a few little things can help! If you try this, let me if this worked for you or what you did differently/added!

♥ Lay out your workout clothes you plan to exercise in the night before and set out your shoes and socks. That way when you wake up everything is right there ready to go. It just makes things easier in the morning to get ready!

♥ Place your phone or alarm clock far away so that you have to get up out of bed to turn it off. That way you have to get up, and have less reasons to go for a jog!

♥ When your alarm goes off do not press the "snooze" button. You will only regret it in the end, and it is a bad habit to get into!

♥ Make a play list of all the songs that motivate you to keep walking/exercising. What I love to do is make a play list of a bunch of songs that last up to a total of 45 minutes, and to not stop exercising until my play list is over.

♥ Before exercising, stretch and do some warm-ups to get you body moving and to wake up all your muscles.

♥ Drink plenty of water before and after exercising. I like to place a water bottle by my bed at night that way in the morning it will be right there and I'll remember to drink some.

♥ Remember to eat before and after working out. Your body keeps burning calories and fat after working out so it is important to eat after.

11.03.2013

Love is something everyone needs and everyone wants. Sometimes I find that it's very hard to have love and compassion for certain people. But I have realized that without love I am nothing and I am bankrupt. If I do things but have no love, why do it? It simply doesn't count if you have no love. As I was reading 1 Corinthians this particular verse stood out to me. Its 1 Corinthians 13:2 and it states "And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." I am so thankful that God never changes, and that his love is everlasting. If it wasn't for God's love there would be no forgiveness, no relationship with Him! I want my life to reflect God's love. I want his love to shine through me and to be able to bless that love onto others. Here is a song that reminds me of why it is so important to have love for others. I hope it touches your heart the way it did to mine. I would love to hear your thoughts on love, as well as any songs that you listen to regarding love, just comment below!